Ch. 12
Scary Hours

DECEMBER 2ND, 1988
10:00
CAIRO, EGYPT

"Lady Enya... I must ask you... What does it mean to live?"

"... To obtain what you desire. That is simply all it means for people to live. They want fortune, fame, food, love... A lover, even... Mundane things..."

"... But in order to attain such desires, one must fight for it, correct, Lady Enya?"

"Certainly..."

"However, should one fall in battle, then they cannot achieve anything... They are left wounded, a bitter taste of defeat and frustration lingering in their mouth... Should they reenter the fray in such a state, fear overtakes their senses...To me, overcome fear is what it means to live… Tell me, do you know who stands at the very apex of the world..?! Those who haven't the faintest shred of fear in their hearts! That's who! Do you understand my words, Lady Enya..?!"

"Absolutely. However, do not forget that I have granted you knowledge of Stands and have awakened and taught you to control yours. What's more, you have been gifted with an immortal body... Is there truly anything you have to fear, Lord Dio?"

"... Perhaps."

"... What concerns you?"

"The Joestar lineage."

"Ha! The Joestars? Those three?! They are worthless! They can't possibly measure up to your Stand!"

"Hm... However, I, Dio, think it impossible for that family's involvement in my life to be anything else than fate. It is not the Joestars themselves I fear, by no means at all. Rather, it is their underestimatable nature. I have lost several times because I took Johnathan's resolve for granted. Never again. It is of utmost necessity that they are removed from the gears of my fate."

"And do you reckon you will go after them for that very reason, Lord Dio?"

"Unfortunately."

"Nonsense! You mustn't act so foolhardy! As we speak, several of my Stand users are making their way to Singapore to eliminate them! And one of them... is my own son! Should the others fail, my son's right hands shall kill them all! There's no need for you to soil your holy hands, Lord Dio! Hee hee hee!

"... Hmph. Such a strange old woman... Tell me... What is it that you desire..?"

"As I have said many times, I wish only to be by your side. To see what becomes of your life. And your Stand. That is all And yours... Yours has tremendous power. It gives you the luck to escape all obstacles standing in your path. Your very life has been influenced by it! This Stand, akin to a true guardian spirit, will live up to its name and control the entire world! I believe it to be so!

"... As do I..."

~+JO*JO+~

Back when she was little, Della Brown had always wanted to take a cruise. It didn't matter to her where she went, as long as she got a chance to see the ocean. She had been surrounded by cityscapes her entire life, and while she liked it, she wanted to travel. Della wanted to feel her hair tousled by a stray breeze and her nose to be filled with the scent of salt water hanging in the air. Just to be at peace riding along the wind and tides.

So when Mr. Joestar said they would be taking a ship, she couldn't be any happier.

Well, she would be happier if their ship hadn't blown up.

Earlier that day, the ship began to explode under their feet. It just so happened that the man posing as Captain Tennille had prepared for his own death and planted several bombs within the ship, ready to go off several minutes ahead. It was quite jarring for them, considering that nobody knew about them; not that they could have disarmed them had they did. As soon as they went off, everyone prepared to abandon ship. They set off flares and escaped on lifeboats just in time before the proud, flaming vessel sank.

It was five in the afternoon now. Della and the group were waiting patiently on their lifeboat, their luggage miraculously saved before the sinking. The sailors were flashing lights out into the ocean in every direction they could, signaling for any ship that might see it from a distance. Everyone except Jojo, Mr. Joestar, herself, and the girl (who introduced herself as Anne) was asleep. She was resting her head tiredly against her friend as she watched the two talk.

"Here," said Mr. Joestar as he handed Anne a canteen of water. "You ought to drink up. It's going to be a while longer before a ship shows up to rescue us. We've sent out all the signals we could."

Anne drank in silence before handing the water back. "You guys... aren't exactly who I thought you were. All I heard was that you were going to Singapore. I thought you were all just regular tourists."

"Regular isn't the best way to describe us."

"I know. That captain, these 'Stands' you told me about, Della floating around..." She looked at her and Jojo with confused blue eyes before turning back to the senior. "Just who are you guys?"

Mr. Joestar crossed his arms and leaned back. "We're on a trip, just like you. But for different reasons. While you're doing it to find your father, we're doing it to save my daughter."

"And we can't be putting innocent lives like yours at risk," said Jojo, eyeing the girl seriously. "Listen, not to sound rude, but I personally don't believe your story. Normally, I wouldn't have a problem with this, but... This is a very dangerous trip. A man all the way in Egypt, who's got this major grudge against my family, made my mother deathly ill. And he's sending assassins to take us out. He won't stop until we're dead, even if it means killing our friends and a little girl."

While Della would have scolded him, she felt he had a point. Jojo's right. We're trying to avoid casualties. The plane ride was horrible enough, but they were adults who were right with us. We were lucky to save most of them. This is a little girl. She barely looks like she's thirteen. I don't want her dead any more than Jojo does. And that was the biggest thing she liked about Jojo. He always cared for others, no matter who they were.

Anne looked away grumpily. She knows he's right too, even if she won't admit it. She was about to say something when she turned back to him, but stopped. Della didn't need to wonder why, as she saw the gigantic shadow looming over her and the others It looked very ship-like. She and Jojo, who she was sure to have noticed as well, turned around and gasped.

"E-E-Everyone," exclaimed Della. "Everyone, wake up! It's here! We're saved!"

The others had woken up and were just as surprised as Della. Before them was a titanic freighter. It was old, it was gigantic, and it looked powerful. Written on the side in large letters was the most fitting name for such a vessel: Big Daddy.

"A-A freighter," said Noriaki in a shaky but excited voice. "How did we not notice it?"

"Maybe it was waiting for us to get closer," said Mohamed in wonder

"It must have! Look!" Mr. Joestar pointed up at the ship's side. A ramp was being lowered for them. This ship must have seen their signals and came. They really were saved. Jojo summoned Preciosa and used him to push their boat closer to the ramp. Hierophant Green was over by the other boat full of sailors and helped push them closer. Everyone looked relieved. Everyone, Della noticed, except Joutarou.

His face was stoic as always. Unlike his brother, she couldn't tell what he was feeling. His emotions were so perfectly hidden behind his walls. But all walls have a crack in it somewhere. And for him, it was his eyes were the crack. They lacked the dull and uncaring look they always had. Now, they were filled with suspicion, just like she had noticed around the fake captain from earlier. Della asked him, "Joutarou, what's wrong? You don't think a Stand user's on this freighter, do you?"

"No," said Joutarou calmly. "I was just wondering why nobody showed their faces when the ramp came down."

He was right. As they got out of their lifeboats, Della noticed nobody stood nearby to greet them. It was very odd, but she had to silently agree with him. Jean Pierre, however, looked scandalized as he was walking up the steps.

"What are you talking about, it came to rescue us," he said behind him. "There have to be people aboard. And even if all of them were Stand users, I'm still getting on."

And Jean Pierre was right, too. So what if there was the possibility that the entire crew was an army of Stand users? All of her friends were more than capable of beating them into oblivion. Nobody was afraid to enter another battle. Especially Jojo. There was a fire in his eyes, as though he was itching to unleash Preciosa against someone. Another admirable trait her best friend had.

With everyone aboard, they began looking all around the ship. As Joutarou suspected, there was nobody whatsoever on deck. Not even within the control room, which was the first place Mr. Joestar led them to investigate. All the meters and lights were all working properly, which seemed to shake him somewhat.

"There's no sign of a captain or a crew," he muttered. "Just where could everyone be?"

"Maybe they've all come down with a bad case of diarrhea," said Jean Pierre begrudgingly."

"At the same time? Unlikely." He then stepped out of the room and began calling out. "HEY! ANYBODY HERE? WHERE IS EVERYONE?"

Nothing. No response. Perhaps they're below deck. Just as Della was about to suggest looking below, Anne had popped around a corner. 'Hey, guys, you ought to come and see this, she called to them and motioned for them to follow her. When they did, they came upon an empty room, housing a large cage. It was not empty. Sitting unperturbed inside was an orangutan: big, fat and covered in red fur. Della was amazed. She had only ever seen one back at the Central Park Zoo.

"Wow," whispered Della, standing outside the entrance to the lone chamber. Looking closer at the simian, she noticed just how healthy he looked. So somebody is here, she thought curiously. "Where's his caretaker? If this guy's here, then there has to be someone looking after him..."

"None of this makes any sense," said Jojo in annoyance. "Either we're being punked or something really bad happened here."

Mr. Joestar nodded as he turned back to the sailors standing nearby. "Comb the ship. We need to- LOOK OUT!"

Everyone turned around. As if things were going in slow motion, one of the cranes dropped down behind one of the sailors. The hook crashed right through the back of his head and out his mouth. He was mercilessly pulled up by it, twitching and dying right before them. Everyone was horrified, except Joutarou, who shielded poor Anne's vision from the gruesome accident.

"Good grief," he said with disgust and disappointment in his voice. "This isn't the type of welcome for a little girl."

The remaining sailors were panicking. None of them were near any levers or machinery to control the crane. As if they would want to kill one of their own. Della and her group gave each other concerned looks. They seemed to be thinking the same awful thing as her. There's death hanging in the air. This ship isn't gonna save us. It's gonna kill us. There has to be a Stand user hiding here. Or perhaps several. And yet, as they looked around, they couldn't see or sense any Stand nearby.

"Forget about finding a crew or captain," said Jojo, still eyeing the dead sailor and shivering. "We need to look around every nook and cranny for a user. There just has to be one. Noriaki, your Hierophant Green can crawl through enclosed spaces. And his range is pretty good." The teen nodded and summoned his Stand, who immediately slid his body through one of the ships grates. Meanwhile, Della went over to Anne, who had left Joutarou's side and was hiding beside the entrance of the orangutan's chamber.

Anne looked up at her and whispered. "Why are all these horrible things happening? A fake captain, people dying... It's because of that Dio, isn't it?"

"Unfortunately, Anne," said Della consolingly, putting a hand to her shoulder. "But listen. For now, while you're with us, with Joutarou, Jojo, the others, and me, you're safe. We're not gonna let anything bad happen to you."

"Promise?"

"Absolutely. You have our word, Anne."

"Hey, don't touch any of those machines," called out Mr. Joestar with authority to the sailors, who were looking over a heavy piece of on-deck machinery. "Anything operated by electricity is a danger here We can't trust anything aboard this ship!"

The sailors were all muttering rather mutinous things within earshot of Mr. Joestar. Sure, they knew more than him, but their lives were in danger. They had to understand. But they didn't. Now annoyed, he practically shouted, "You idiots listen here! If you value your lives, you will do as I say! Do not touch any machinery and head to the cabin below deck for your safety! I don't want any more men dying today! Do you understand?!"

The message finally got through to them, and the sailors silently made their way below deck. Della turned back to Anne and whispered, "Listen, we're all gonna look for the Stand user. Hopefully, we'll find them before the sun goes down. They may not be vampires, but it's better we do all this while we still have daylight."

Anne nodded and hugged the woman, who returned it. When Della looked over her shoulder, she saw the orangutan looking back at her. He slipped a long arm through the bars and pointed at the lock hanging over the cage. She responded with, "No, we don't have the key. We need to find your keeper." Anne let go and turned to the simian, who reached behind him and pulled out a perfect and recently sliced apple. It looked too perfect for an orangutan to do on his own.

The two girls carefully approached him, stopping a few inches from his arms reach. Orangutans were powerful creatures, and Della did not want to be torn apart. But it didn't look like he would attack. "Is there anyone here," asked Anne quizzically. "Anyone who feeds you?" The orangutan didn't respond, instead choosing to pull out a cigarette and a match from his fur. He struck the match and lit up for a smoke. He sure is smart, she thought, rather impressed. Perhaps he works as a circus act.

Then, as if they weren't there, he pulled out a magazine from himself. On its cover was Jessica Rabbit, or at least someone dressed like her, from this year's hit summer movie. It was a Playboy. And he flipped it sideways to reveal the centerfold of a beautiful woman in a white, dotted coat left open to reveal her nude form. He seemed to be enjoying the sight, which was quite odd for an orangutan. It sent an unnerving shiver down Della's spine.

"L-Let's go, Anne," Della said hurriedly. "These things are a bit dangerous. Come on." She led the young girl out of the chamber. She did not want to be in the same vicinity as that simian for a while. Just seeing him ogle that woman like that made her feel uncomfortable, vulnerable, before the beast. Turning back. she could have sworn the orangutan was looking at her, and no longer at last month's centerfold.

~+JO*JO+~

It was an hour later. The sun was setting, casting shades of orange and pink in the west as the east was dominated by a slowly darkening indigo. The sailors were still below deck, trying to test a radio they managed to find earlier. Mr. Joestar had allowed them to do so, deeming it safe enough. The group above had now congregated above deck. None of them had any luck. Noriaki and Hierophant Green had the worst of it.

"I've checked in every possible corner of this ship," he said in mild frustration. "I've even sent him through all the grates, the air vents, and even the pipes. And I've found nothing. This just doesn't make any sense at all. The only sign of life I could find is that orangutan, and he's locked in his cage."

" So what, are you saying this ship just came to us on its own," said Jean Pierre, trying to steady his voice. "That it's haunted or something?"

"Impossible," said Mr. Joestar. "There's no such thing as-"

"Connerie! We have Stands! We're hunting a vampire! If things like that exist, who's to say ghosts don't?! To hell with this, I'm going to keep looking!" The scared Frenchman turned on his heel and left them. Jojo was about to say something, but Mr. Avdol simply shook his head. It was better to let him cool off. Seeing the sun already setting made Della feel tired. Sleep was, unfortunately, out of the question in this situation, so she decided the best thing to do for the moment was to take a shower.

"Hey Anne, do you wanna take a shower with me," she asked the young girl.

"Sure", she replied with a smile. "I kinda forgot to when we left China." Della took her hand and led her inside and down below. It seemed rather peaceful and quiet, the only sounds being the ship operating and the sailors working with the radio. They managed to find one of the showers, but it was placed rather close to the room where the men congregated in. Della had to step in and explain to them what they were doing. None of them were interested, absorbed in their work.

She sure was thankful there was running water. She really wanted to get the smell of saltwater off her skin. While they waited for the water to heat up, the two undressed and talked. Della turned to Anne as she undid her bikini and asked, "So, is Jojo right? Are you lying about finding your dad?"

"Why do you think I'm lying," Anne nearly shouted, taking her overalls off. "I'm looking for my dad in Singapore. He left us and I'm worried about him."

"Anne, your ears are turning red. I'm not like Jojo or his supersleuth brother Joutarou, but I'm smart enough to know when someone's lying. I won't be mad if you tell the truth and neither will they.

Anne stood silently defiant. But after gazing into her kind eyes, she deflated and looked down. "I'm sorry. Yes, it's a lie. I.. I wanted to travel the world. I wanted to see all the different countries there are to see. But my family is too poor, and... they'll always be too poor. When I saw you and your friends talk about taking a boat, I got excited. I saw it as my chance to leave and finally start making my dream a reality."

"Well, that explains a lot. Except for the disguise."

"I thought dressing up as a boy would make things easier." The two stepped under the shower-head and began to bathe. "It's not easy for a girl to travel on her own."

"Good point. But, Jojo was right. This is a dangerous journey. People have died, are dying, because of us... And we don't wanna endanger anyone any more than we already have. Listen, when we get to Singapore, we're gonna send you back. You'll have time to build up for a real adventure, one without the danger we're facing. You understand?"

Anne nodded, knowing that he was defeated. She stood silent for a moment as they washed up. It was as they did their hair that she said, "So, speaking of Jojo, do you like him?"

An embarrassed silence was all Anne got for an answer. It was the last thing she was expecting to be asked. But it wasn't like she hadn't thought about it. She wouldn't tell her or anyone else, but the truth was, she actually did. Jojo, to her, was a very passionate man. He was carefree, loyal, fierce, brave. A lot of positive things, really. Jojo wasn't afraid to show his emotions, neither was he afraid to protect the ones he cared for. And what he cared for was his friends and family.

And me, of course.

Ever since she had met Jojo, things had been rather different. Before she met him that fateful day, she wasn't too social. She never really hung out with her few friends or at least initiated a conversation with them. Besides work and her little hobbies here and there, life wasn't too exciting. But then she met him, and every day since had become its own adventure. And despite the situations she landed in, she was happy to share them with him.

When did she begin liking him? She supposed it was after that one day they went out to dinner and that scrawny man and his Stand attacked. He protected her, just as that man was about to go after her for distracting him from her friend. Della didn't ask him to. Jojo just did it. And even if she did endanger herself then, he didn't reprimand her. Instead, he checked to see if she was hurt. She felt... important. Safe. Perhaps loved. And she had never felt that way with anyone else.

Except from her parents. And, perhaps, her childhood friend. But to think about that was too painful.

You know, maybe I can tell her about what I feel, she contemplated. She doesn't look like a snitch. She turned to her and was about to speak, but she quickly froze. Over her shoulder, she saw that someone was standing by the now shut door where the sailors were behind. But it was none of them. Nor was it one of her friends. Anyone of them would have been better than who she saw.

It was the orangutan. He was free from his cage. She didn't have time to wonder how he escaped when she saw his rather bloody hands. Given where he stood, she didn't have to guess who that blood belonged to.

The sailors...

Anne, confused, turned around and gasped when she saw the simian, who looked over the girls. There was a hungry look in his eyes that Della knew had nothing to do with food. She had never felt so exposed in her entire life. But while she was trembling hard, something flared inside Della. It was a feeling she knew Jojo felt all the time. A need to protect, driven by insane bravery. As if her body were being controlled by someone other than herself, Della moved over to stand protectively in front of her little friend.

"Get away from us, you filthy monster," she hissed in defiance.

The orangutan stepped closer, growling as he knew he was going to have to fight and get his hands dirtier to get what he wanted. Della was by no means a fighter, but she was ready to attack with everything she had. He took another step and screeched before raising his massive arms. Before Della could throw a punch, she saw another figure step behind him, turn him around, and smash a heavy lock right over his head.

It was Jojo. And he looked pissed.

"Here's your fucking lock, mono," he yelled as he threw it at him, striking his face again. Della has never been happier to see him. He turned back to them and his expression softened. He was smiling at her, which made her feel safe again. "You were actually gonna fight, Della?"

"Well, what else was I supposed to do," she asked with a smirk. She then remembered that she was naked. Absolutely naked. In front of her friend. She hastily tried covering herself up with the shower curtain, but she was so flustered that she kept fumbling with it.

"Here, let me." Jojo summoned Preciosa, who tore apart the curtain in half. He then carefully tied it around both the girl's bodies to save their modesty. While Della was red and embarrassed, Jojo was unfazed. And here she expected him to flip out or get a nosebleed like in the Japanese comics she once read from Joutarou's small collection. But he just gave her an endearing look and said, "I'm proud that you tried defending yourself. Now come on. We gotta warn the others about-"

He instinctively spun around. Preciosa moved and blocked an oncoming kick from the animal. Despite the injury, he looked pretty stable. Before the frog-like Stand attacked, an overhead fan fell and dug itself into Jojo's shoulder. The girls gasped and the simian chuckled at his prey's misfortune. Della knew the fan didn't just drop on its own from age. Not without warning. That was when she made a horrific realization: This orangutan is the Stand user we were looking for.

Before she could even warn Jojo, the fan's blades bent and smacked itself off, sending Jojo flying down the hall and through a door. The orangutan lunged after, and the girls gave chase. A nearby window suddenly broke and began sending shards of glass his way. Preciosa, still by his side, used his fast reflexes to catch the shards of glass between his fingers. When the two landed, the Stand threw a glass-covered punch at his attacker. But the fist didn't hit the orangutan, but rather the wall.

The orangutan in question had melded with the steel wall of the corridor, laughing as he phased right through. "Shit," cursed Jojo. "This fucker's the Stand user. But... I couldn't see his Stand. When he smashed that window and broke the fan. Della, did you see anything?"

"No, I didn't," she said with worry in her voice now. "I mean, it felt like there was a Stand, but there was nothing there."

"Maybe," spoke up Anne, confused and rather scared, "you guys have already seen it."

No, she fearfully thought. That's impossible. But Della knew she was right. There's no other reason for anything we've seen to be moving on its own. There isn't a Stand controlling the ship. The Stand is the ship. Upon this frightening realization, the ship began to creak. Pipes materialized from the wall, a nearby fire hose snaked about, and all of them ensnared Jojo. They held him to the wall, where half of his body disappeared to. He tried to free himself, but he couldn't.

"Oh man," he muttered, pain in his voice. "It's crushing me... Della, Anne, don't get close. He might do the same to you." As if on cue, the orangutan slipped out from the opposite wall. And now, he was wearing a white captain's jacket and hat. He was smoking a pipe and flipping through a pocket dictionary. Della noticed there was a name-tag on his jacket reading "Forever". That must be his name. He stopped halfway through the dictionary and showed it to her, pointing to a word in the S section.

Della approached slowly and read what word he landed on. It was "strength". Force, energy, power, aid. And it was the eighth card in the Major Arcana. It represented a challenge, strong will, and hidden instincts. This had to be the Stand's name as well. It was fitting for this orangutan, who acted like a normal yet intelligent animal. His species was powerful, and this very ship exuded so much power with its appearance alone. She had to wonder just how they were going to beat such a strong user.

Forever looked at her with those lustful eyes and winked suggestively. And this time, Della didn't back away. She slapped him hard for that. The orangutan growled, but before he could strike, he winced in annoyance. Something else hit him on his forehead. He looked down and picked up a small, black button. It was from Jojo's trunks. While Forever was distracted, he must have used Preciosa to tear off the unnecessary button to throw it. And this seemed to have the desired effect he wanted.

"That wasn't a part of your Stand," he said with a chuckle. "I figured that I can't exactly use the ship to attack you. You have full control over that." Forever was now huffing and twitching in anger that something besides the humans or Preciosa could harm him. Now Jojo was talking to him mockingly, almost like he was bullying a baby. "Aw, what's wrong, mono? Did I wound your pride? Or maybe you don't have any. A foul beast like you could never have pride."

That did it. Forever howled in rage and lunged. Preciosa, despite having been partially absorbed into the wall, had the use of one of its arms. He delivered a powerful punch right into the raging orangutan's face, almost crumpling it as he was knocked away a few feet. That blow must have been pretty powerful, for Jojo and his Stand were freed from their binds. With nothing holding him back, he and his Stand approached Forever. The orangutan's demeanor had now completely changed when he saw him looming over him.

Della saw it in his face. He was mortified.

Forever quickly opened his jacket and exposed his stomach to Jojo. And he was greeted to a brief chuckle. "You know, I heard animals show their stomach whenever they're attacked as a sign of surrender. So, I guess you're asking for forgiveness?" Forever nodded. "Sorry, but I can't. You see, you kinda fucked with the rules when it comes to acting like a proper animal. You should have been more docile. You should have left us alone. Especially these girls... There's a special place for animals like you…

"It's called Hell."

And with that, Preciosa wasted no time in pummeling the perverted Stand user into oblivion. It took a few seconds, but once he had finished, Forever was a bleeding mess that was swiftly punched out of the corridor. The girls cheered for Jojo and ran to hug him, but they stopped in their tracks. The ship was beginning to shake. The walls were twisting and breaking apart. With Forever dead, the Stand that was Strength was falling apart.

"Jojo," exclaimed Della. "We've gotta get out of here! And quickly!"

He didn't need telling twice. Jojo took their hands and ran with them out of the corridor. They reached the deck of the ship, where their group had gotten into a lifeboat.

"We have to go" called out Mr. Avdol. "Hurry!"

Once they were securely inside, Jojo turned to Joutarou and practically yelled, "Get Star Platinum out! We're chucking us out of here!" He nodded, and Star Platinum and Preciosa grabbed the lifeboat. With a cry of "BRACE YOURSELVES," the two Stands threw them all off the sinking vessel. Mr. Joestar and Anne screamed the whole way before landing safely on the water almost a mile away. They landed with a great splash, soaking everyone in the salty brine.

So much for my shower, lamented Della, as she took a moment to look back at the twisting mess that was once the ship. It slowly crumpled in on itself until there was nothing left except for a shoddy little dinghy. Everyone who wasn't Joutarou and his brother was shaken up. None more so than Mr. Avdol.

"I cannot believe it," he said shakily. "That orangutan crossed the ocean on his own Stand. This is the first time I have seen anything so horrifically powerful."

"We were completely overwhelmed," said Mr. Joestar. "We were all trapped in the floor. Even Joutarou couldn't break free. Had Joaquín not gone after that monkey, there's no doubt we wouldn't have escaped. It makes me wonder if we'll meet more Stand users like him."

"Of course we are," said Jojo warily. "And their Stands don't even need to be as big or powerful as that ship. It could be as small as an ant and be just as deadly, if not deadlier. On top of that, there's also Dio's Stand. If he could send the fucking Titanic after us, then we can only imagine just how frightful his truly is."

Nobody said anything. They knew he was right, and it did not make them feel any better. They were wet, tired, pained, and hungry. The last thing anyone wanted was a fresh reminder that there were more fearsome opponents yet to come. Especially Della, who was nearly raped by an orangutan. While she was not shaken by the events that transpired, she did worry somewhat about the future. How many more Stand users would try to take advantage of her? She didn't know. And she didn't care.

Because Stand or not, she would not back down from a fight.

As she rested her head on Jojo, she watched the others with tired, bleary eyes. Noriaki combed his hair, Joutarou tried lighting up a cigarette, and Jean Pierre offered everyone some gum. Mr. Avdol and Joestar remained silent and Anne was trying to fall asleep. It was funny how the entire day came to a full circle. It began on this very lifeboat waiting to be rescued by a ship and it ended as such. If this is fate, ruefully thought Della, then I want to have a serious conversation with the one running the show.

"Hey, Della?"

It was Jojo, who was whispering somewhat. He sounded quite content given their current situation.

"Yes, Jojo," she asked, looking up at him tiredly

"You did good today." He then draped his arm over her, which prompted her to wrap hers over his midsection comfortingly. "I'm very proud of you, Della."

Her heart fluttered at the praise. With all that had happened today, she felt rather proud. With a quite "Thank you," Della nestled against her friend and drifted off into a peaceful slumber.

Thank you so much, Jojo…

~FOREVER (1954-1988): RIP~